U.S. Army MP units have combat zone responsibilities in addition to their law enforcement duties. These responsibilities include mounted and dismounted patrols, response force operations, area damage control, route reconnaissance, cordon and search operations, and convoy and personnel escorts. Operationally, these duties fall under the "security and mobility support" discipline of the Military Police Corps. Since the beginning of the Global War on Terror, military police have become a valuable asset to combat operations due to the versatility of the MOS.

The Army's Military Police provide an important function in the full spectrum of Army operations as a member of the Maneuver, Fires, and Effects division. The Military Police Corps provides expertise in police, detainment and stability operations in order to enhance security and enable mobility. The Army's Military Police can be utilized in direct combat and during peacetime.

Disciplines

The Military Police tasks can separated into three disciplines and one integrated function:

The Military Police Corps has six career paths within the Army, one for commissioned officers, one for warrant officers, and four for enlisted soldiers:
Currently 31 series, formerly the 95 series, and before that, 1677.

The Military Police Corps traces its lineage and history back to the American Revolution. General George Washington requested that the staff position of Provost Marshal be created to deal with disciplinary issues. In January 1776, William Maroney was appointed as the first Provost Marshal of the Continental Army.[1] The Provost Marshals relied on soldiers temporarily drawn from other units, and had difficulty enforcing discipline. On 20 May 1778, Congress established the Provost Corps, which General Washington referred to as the "Marechaussee."[1] This name was from the French: "maréchaussée," from the Old French "mareschaucie," meaning "the marshalcy." Captain Bartholomew von Heer, a German-speaking officer from Pennsylvania, was appointed as the first commander of the Marechaussee on 1 June 1778.[1][2] Under the new organization, the Provost Marshal was responsible for soldiers under custody and for punishments, while the Marechaussee was tasked with the enforcement of order within the Continental Army. The Marechaussee Corps would be formed exclusively as a police organization, and was organized and equipped as light dragoons, utilizing their speed to aid in troop movements and moving prisoners from the battlefield. The Marechaussee protected the Army's rear and flanks during troop movements, searched for stragglers, guarded river crossings, and engaged in combat when needed, as in the Battle of Springfield.[3] The Provost Corps was disbanded in November 1783.[3]

The officer in charge is inspecting the arms of the Zouaves, who are about to dispatch on a provost-guard duty.

In 1863, the Office of the Provost Marshal General was established and oversaw the Veterans Reserve Corps (VRC). In the US Civil War, the VRC maintained law and order at garrison areas, while other provost guard units served on the front lines. After the war, the Office of the Provost Marshal General was discontinued as the Union Army disbanded.

The complexity of warfare during World War I required a corps of specially-trained soldiers to handle massive numbers of prisoners of war and control the movement of troops and supplies in the zones of operation. The Military Police Training Department was established 9 September 1918 at Caserne Changarnier in Autun, France.[4] Following the war, Brigadier General Harry Hill Bandholtz, who had served as Provost Marshal of the American Expeditionary Forces, proposed the establishment of a permanent Military Police Corps. Although Congress failed to act upon this recommendation, it allowed for the permanent organization of Army military police units in the National Defense Act Amendment of 1920.[5]

In 1917, CPL Charles W. Baltimore, a black MP soldier stationed at Camp Logan in Texas, inquired into the beating of a black soldier by Houston police and was himself beaten and arrested afterwards.[6] The racial tension which followed led to the Houston Riot, which killed four soldiers and sixteen civilians, and 60 black soldiers were executed or sentenced to life in prison.

The man standing on the left side of this picture, which was taken in post-WWII Germany, is a West German policeman (at a time when West Germany's police force was just officially created), while the other, standing on the right side, is a Lithuanian-German member of the US Army Military Police.

When the Red Ball Express (a supply route stemming from Normandy to the front lines) was established in August 1944, MP performed route reconnaissance and security to keep the trucks and supplies flowing. This was the 793rd Military Police Battalion's (disbanded 2014) first mission in theater and commemorated this in their coat of arms and unit insignia; which consists of a field of green, a yellow road, and two red disks symbolizing the famed route.

Thanks to the actions of First lieutenant John Hyde and his detachment of MP, The Corps was heralded for gallantry at Remagen, as a fighting force in numerous combat actions and as peacekeepers at war’s end. In 1944, the Army again saw the need for a unit to investigate crime involving soldiers in Europe. The United States Army Criminal Investigation Division was established as a branch of the Provost Marshal General’s Office and has continued investigative activity since.

After the war ended, cavalry units in Germany were utilized to form the United States Constabulary, a police-like patrol organization. It was disbanded in the 1950s.

In 1949, the newly formed Defense Department was in the process of reorganizing the Army and plans were developed to disband the Military Police Corps. But when Congress passed the Army Reorganization Act in May 1950, the Corps survived, remaining a separate branch of the Army.

When North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950, there were some MP units stationed in Korea. One of those was the 55th Military Police Company, which had been assigned to Camp Ascom in December 1948. Most of those military police units that arrived during the early months of the war came from Japan, where they were serving as occupation forces following World War II. While the majority of MP companies came from outside Korea, most of the battalions of the Korean War were formed on the peninsula

During the Korean war, Military Police kept supply routes open. Subsequently, Military Police monitored the exchange of prisoners and patrolled the demilitarized zone. Military Police, adapting to a different style of warfare in Vietnam, earned status as a combat support arm, partially as a result of combat success during the Tet Offensive.[8]

During Operation Just Cause, Operation Desert Shield and Storm, the Military Police provided area security, conducted battlefield circulation control, and exercised custody over thousands of prisoners. Since 1991, the Military Police have assisted with interventions in Somalia, Haiti and Bosnia. Military Police maintained order in war-torn Kosovo, as well as keeping the peace in Afghanistan. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, MPs were used extensively to maintain control over the large numbers of detainees being held by coalition forces, as well as helping to conduct raids, convoy security and regular patrols. MPs were the main force responsible in rebuilding and training the Iraqi Police. Ever since the invasion, military police have been one of the most heavily engaged military occupational specialty in the Iraqi theater. In the United States, MPs often provided disaster relief and internal security, while still fulfilling their fundamental function of maintaining discipline and security within the Army.

Women in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps were assigned Military Police duties as early as 1941.[9] By 1943, soldiers in the Women's Army Corps were trained as Military Police in order to police female soldiers, although they had jurisdiction over all soldiers, including males.[9] Women have since served in the Military Police Corps, which has given the regiment some distinction. (In the 1953 Film Off Limits, Bob Hope plays a character who joins the Military Police so he can train with women.) Females were officially accepted into the Military Police Corps in 1975. As the Women's Auxiliary Corps was disbanded the Military Police stood up to accept and train women alongside their male counerparts. Female MPs have crossed many gender barriers in the United States Armed Forces.

In the 1983 Invasion of Grenada, 4 female MPs from the 118th Military Police Company (Airborne) were deployed to Grenada. Conflicting views of women in combat caused them to be ordered back to the United States, only to be ordered back to Grenada days later.[10]

Tulsi Gabbard became the first female to graduate Alabama Military Academy as the OCS distinguished honor graduate in March 2007,[14] and one of the first women combat veterans to serve in United States Congress.[15]

In the U.S. Army, a simple patch with the legend "MP" worn on the left arm distinguishes a military-police soldier wearing the new Army Combat Uniform (ACU). This patch is attached to the uniform by hook and loop fastener commonly referred to as Velcro. For both garrison law-enforcement duty as well as for tactical field work, the patch is a subdued gray with black lettering.

U.S. military police used to be distinguished by a brassard worn on the left arm when on duty in previous uniform versions such as the Battle Dress Uniform. The brassard was black with white lettering for garrison law-enforcement duty and could include extra designations such as "Customs MP" or "K-9 MP" (for dog handlers). Tactical brassards were green with black lettering for temperate climates and sand with light brown lettering for desert duty.

When wearing a Class A (suit) or B uniform they are authorized to wear combat boots instead of regulation low-cut shoes. However, like Airborne soldiers who may only wear the boots while on jump status, MPs may only wear these boots with Class A or B uniforms when performing law enforcement duties.

During World War II, the emblems used were a wide white band around the helmet or a white helmet liner or a white peaked cap, a white webbing Sam Browne belt, white gloves, and white gaiters, atop the standard olive drab uniform. From this clothing, the nickname they were given by the British civilians at the time was "snowdrops." An MP armband was also worn on the left arm, usually black or dark blue with white letters.

The standard personal weapons of the United States Army military police include the 9mm M9 pistol, the M4 carbine, the M320 grenade launcher, the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) or M240B, and the Mossberg 12-gauge pump action shotgun. MP team leaders are typically assigned an M4 with an M320 attached, drivers are assigned an M4, and gunners are assigned an M249 in addition to any other crew-served weapons they are responsible for.

Military Police are considered maneuver support, and MP units may be organized at many different levels, based on the size of the unit it is meant to support. An Army Corps may contain one MP brigade, which is responsible for training and supplying subordinate Military Police units. When MP units are deployed, their parent unit may maintain administrative control (ADCON) while relinquishing tactical control (TACON) to the deployed unit being supported.

The Military Police Investigations (MPI) office is usually responsible for the investigation of crimes, such as crimes against property under $5,000.00 and crimes against persons except murder and rape (handled by the CID) committed on a military installation, but they may investigate other crimes in certain circumstances. MPI personnel are enlisted MPs who go through a special course at the Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

The M1805 pistol, sometimes referred to as the Harper's Ferry Pistol (Harper's Ferry Model 1805)(made at the Harper's Ferry Arsenal), was selected since it was the first American military pistol and remained the Army model for many years. The parts of this weapon were standardized and inter-changeable, thereby marking an advance in arms production.

A gold color metal and enamel device 1 3/16 inches in height consisting of a shield blazoned as follows: Vert, a fasces palewise, axe Or and rods Proper (brown), thereover in fess a balance and in saltire overall a key with bow in sinister base and a sword with hilt in dexter base all of the second.

The shield is enclosed at bottom and sides by a gold scroll of three folds inscribed ASSIST PROTECT DEFEND in green letters and surmounted at the top by two crossed gold pistols.

The coat of arms appears on the breast of a displayed eagle on the regimental flag.

The coat of arms is: Vert, a fasces palewise, axe Or and rods Proper (brown); thereover in fess a balance and in saltire overall a key with bow in sinister base and a sword with hilt in dexter base all of the second.

The crest (On a wreath of the colors Or and Vert a pair of crossed pistols of the first) is displayed above the eagle's head.

The background color of the flag is green and the fringe is yellow. The coat of arms was approved on 2 May 1986.

Symbolism

Green and gold are the colors associated with the Military Police Corps.

The fasces is an ancient symbol of authority related to a Roman magistrate.

The balance is symbolic of equal justice under law and the key signifies security.

The sword represents the military.

The crossed pistols are the symbol of the Military Police Corps mission: to uphold the law and to keep order.